New Fish Not Getting To The Food.

[mbpted]

I just added a new school of Red Minor Serpae Tetras to help populate a tank with a few a couple other tetra species. (three skirts and 1 black neon) They seem happy enough, two days later, the water seems fine - no spikes in Ammonia - pH levels are stable.

However, at feeding time, the older tetras go for the food at the top of the tank and it's gone within 30 seconds. The new fish seem to be waiting for the food to float down to them so they can pick it from the water.

With no food floating down, they're not getting anything to eat.

I increased the amount of food to accommodate the new fish, but I think that just means the older fish are gorging. I don't want to pollute the water with overfeeding, but I'm having a hard time gauging how much to give if they don't get to any food at all.

I feed the tank once a day. In the morning. I turn on the light, wait about 10 minutes for the fish to "wake up," and crush the flakes into nice bite-sized pieces before dropping them in the tank. The old fish are used to the routine, and congregate at the top whenever I open the top of the tank - even if it's just to test the water.

I've had problems introducing new fish in the past, but I attributed that to poor acclimation to the water, and incompatibility with the older fish. I am pretty confident that these guys were acclimated properly, and the old fish are leaving them alone to do their thing. But I don't want them to starve. Will they eventually figure it out when they get hungry enough?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[panda_cory]

If you think there not getting any try stirring the top of the water so the food sinks or get some sinking wafers, it maybe that they are just not used to the tank.

 

[Chad]

One of the things I do is feed the more agressive feeders at the end of the tank away from where the timid fish is. That gets them all over there. Then I put some food near the timid eater. That way the other fish are busy and he has a better chance. It doesn't always work of course but it's worth a shot.

 

[Mikey1]

stop worrying so much, they will eat eventually, just give them time

 

[KCB]

If you have flakes you could try crushing them between your fingers then releasing them below the surface of the water so they sink quicker to the bottom and give your new guys a better chance at feeding.

 

[mbpted]

stop worrying so much, they will eat eventually, just give them time

That's what I figured, but this was one thing I wanted to make sure I wasn't messing up.

Thanks all for the great suggestions.

 

[Chad]

I've been in the hobby for a long time and I still worry. I love my fishy friends.